The Season in Review: Thanks to You for Making It So Special!

[thetrailboss]

The Season in Review

So now it is May. The weekend rains have given me time to bond with my equipment as I say goodbye to winter and welcome another hiking season…a time when I will wish that I was on my skis So what can we say about this winter? What will be the memories that will last longer than the snow did?

For me, the ski season went back quite a ways…to Columbus Day when I was shopping for skis and boots. I found my new skis at Wachusett and then later my boots at Strand’s. During the Red Sox playoff games, I would stare at my boots and stroke my skis during the seventh inning stretch. I even slipped on my boots and imagined myself on the slopes. We already had our season passes to Pats Peak and our gear…all ready to go  It wouldn’t be long now.

And then came the Ski Show in Boston. As you recall, it was a lot of fun for me and Ms. Trailboss for we booked our first ski vacation to Sunday River She was so excited that after we left, she called her mother and gave her the news. “We’re going on a ski vacation!” For me, it was about seeing the different resorts and getting all of those stickers. The guys at Burke somehow recognized me…it was great to see them and talk about the upcoming season. We also scored many free tickets…what a great time!!

Report: The long-awaited Boston Ski show finally came and we were sure to attend for free stuff, stickers, conversation, and an overall good time. We were in good company this year, but it did not seem as crowded as last year, maybe due to the fact that it was a) later in the season (holiday weekend) b) some places were open (so some were skiing) as opposed to last year, or c) The Harvard-Yale game was on the same day. Regardless, we had plenty of elbow room as opposed to last year.

Our budget was tight, but we did want to take advantage of any ski vacation deals. Sugarloaf ended up not being within our budget and they did not seem interested in working with us, so we booked with Sunday River, which I visited 3x in 2001 and enjoyed. Oh well...White Heat as opposed to White Nitro The GF will enjoy the lessons and the River's terrain as well as their snow and faster lifts.

Free Stuff: Plenty to find--ASC was handing out free T-shirts as was Stowe. Mad River had stacks of their famous stickers for FREE! Crotched gave us a 2 for 1 coupon to visit (much improved presence from last season). Saw a College friend there as well. Winner: Would have to be either Cannon for their discount pre-season tix and game or ASC for their annoying gong prize wheel for those who bought vacations and the free T-shirts.

Read the rest of the thread HERE.

The next rite of passage was Warren Miller’s “Impact” which I saw at the Somerville Theatre with a few hundred other rabid fans. I was pumped…the temps had fallen and winter was coming. “I just heard from Killington that it’s snowing and cold…the guns are going!” said the announcer before a roar from the audience. It wouldn’t be long now.

And indeed the first part of November looked quite promising. Temps fell as did the snow. Everyone got out the snowguns and began making snow. During that first weekend in November, I drove through several inches of snow to get to Connecticut. While others were groaning and crying, I was excited. During my visit to U Conn Law, students were all complaining about the snow. “This is New England,” I said, “Ski season is coming soon!!” We were all excited in here…sharing our dreams and plans for the upcoming season.

My first sight of snow was in early November. You know—snow so white and bright that it blinds you? I can recall the gray Veteran’s Day Hike I took up Tecumseh to find some ice and snow at the summit. Before leaving, I cut through the ski area:

From here, there are no blazes, but I chose to take the obvious service road which led to the former Express Quad Summit Station. The views here were amazing and the fresh snow from the guns was a great sight for this skier I poked around, took some pictures, and ascended on far skier's right so as to not ruin the snowmaker's work. I made it down to the Express Quad and then descended Tippecanoe and Tyler Too trails, past the North Chairlift, and down to the base which was a steady and easy walk. Hoses and guns were ready to go.

At the bottom, I passed three snowboarders playing in the snow, which was great to see. After some more poking around the base area, I returned to my car and headed home.

In all, a good way to end the hiking season for me.

During this descent I had to wear my sunglasses not because of the overcast sky, but because of the fresh snowmaking on the upper part of Waterville Valley. I grinned.

But then something changed. The temperatures warmed and the rains began. I recall enjoying one of the most mild Turkey days on record…it was nice but I wished to be skiing. The weather was not normal:

I'm up here in the NEK of VT and here is a recap of the last 24 hours:

High of 63F yesterday at 12 noon or so

Cold front barrelled through at 1pm or shortly thereafter with pea-size hail , thunder, lightning, and wind gusts. Glad I was not skiing at Sbush. Not normal "November weather."

Second front came through at 3pm or so...more thunder and rain.

Brought the Grandmothers home just in time for it to sleet and during dinner, it began to snow. The temps fell into the low to mid teens overnight and we now have a dusting of snow. Flurries under a blue sky right now....looks great! Keep snowing!

In all...two rounds of thunderstorms, snow, heat, and a 50 degree swing in less than 24 hours. This is a tough but interesting place to live! Next to Mt. Washington, we are up there with most dramatic weather.

That weekend I was calmed though by temps that fell into the thirties. My eyes widened at the sights and sounds from later that weekend on my way to North Conway:

Just back from a short jaunt to N. Conway. Besides the moose sighting (see my advice to those who decided to try and pet the animal) , we passed by Bretton Woods and Attitash off of Route 302 and returned by them as snowmaking operations were in full tilt under a moonlit sky.

Attitash had lots of snowmaking going on underneath the Yankee Flyer (or clipper) Express Quad this PM and tonight. It was their typical pre-season route. Tonight, they had guns going all along the base area and some of it was making it to the road! Won't be long now. There was also a crew with lights working higher up on the route off of the summit.

As for Bretton Woods, guns were in full force this PM near the Fabyan Express Triple (or what once was) and also further west. Tonight they were making snow behind the MW Hotel (nordic operations) and also on the route they currently have open from the Bethlehem Express Quad.

Cannon may or may not have been making snow...we were heading north and looked back from Waterford (VT) to see a light, though there is a light near the state's transmitters at the top of the mtn (which looks kind of spooky from the distance).

We all began planning…the first weekend of December was marked on my calendar for the start of the season at Pats and I was looking forward to meeting Greg and a few other Azer’s in December. It wouldn’t be long now.

Or would it? The warm temperatures persisted as did the rain. Don’t you remember? First we sighed, and then we cried, as we missed the first two weeks of December. Somehow, Pats finally opened—albeit a week later than scheduled—and I braved the fog for my first turns:

Date(s) Skied: December 11-12, 2004

Resort or Ski Area: Pat's Peak, Henniker, NH

Conditions: Sat: Fog and softer snow, mainly corn snow. Sun: Faster FG, LG surfaces.

Trip Report: Better late than never. Pat's Peak opened this past weekend and though it is not the largest resort, it is certainly one of the friendliest places that I have skied. They go out of their way to make you feel welcome and take good care of their visitors.

I drove up on Saturday for a few hours and expected to find thin cover and narrow strips of snow and instead found soft snow conditions, very good cover, friendly folks, few people, and good variety considering the poor weather as of late. The Valley Triple was offering two easier runs (Whisper and Puff) along with a narrow groomer track down the middle of the terrain park. The former two trails were covered edge to edge and the new glades look very nice.

Off of the summit, the Peak had one route for expert skiers which consisted of Cyclone (single black diamond) leading to the green circle run-out. It was very well covered both days and featured soft bumps on Saturday. It was getting scratchy on Sunday thanks to lots of skiers and cold temps.

Fog made visibility tricky on Sat, but this was not a problem until about 3:30pm, which was about when I quit for the day.

Sunday was cooler, sunnier, clearer, and the snow was faster. Ms. Trailboss came up for the day and enjoyed her first outing for the season. Thanks to the staff for opening up and the hard work (the new bathrooms are great as are the other improvements).

Looking forward to a great season--more reports from here (every once in a while) and also from Burke and Sunday River later this season!!!

It was tough right through until almost February since it rained every week in snow country. Somehow we braved the ice and boilerplate. Machine groomed was nice as were the few inches here and there of snow we might get. Christmas was barely white…but we made it. My brother and his girlfriend drove down for their ‘ski weekend’ with us on MLK weekend…remember? It was 60 F on the Friday and 15 F on Saturday. We had FRGR but still it was fun. Then came the big blizzard…the one that my car would not start for…so I missed my ski trip with Greg at the BEast, but he terrorized me with first his pics and then his trip report (and the BEast Ad on the page that would not go away) !!!

Originally Posted by Greg

I was disappointed to hear on the way up that thetrailboss couldn't get his car started to meet me at the mountain. I was looking forward to meeting and skiing with him. Another time, I guess. I got to the mountain around 10 AM.

Appropriately enough the ski season started during our ski week at Sunday River. Refresher: three spring skiing days and two monster powder days. Unbelievable!!!! :0

From here on out, we all reveled in the snow. It did not stop…a whole ski season’s worth of snow in six weeks or so. Even Pats Peak was great! The trees were once again open for skiing…the few weeks that we could do it would give us a year’s worth of dreams and great memories.

March was unreal…powder days were abundant. March 12-14th provided fresh deep powder, sunshine, and good times for us at Pats Peak. Our Girl Scouts were treated to one of the greatest epic powder/blue bird days in recent history!

As usual, the season lingered into April with visits to Loon, Cannon, and Sugarbush. It was great despite the rains that returned and the warm temps that melted the snow away.

This was a season of many new places including Loon, Ski Ward, Nashoba, Wachusett, and Berkshire East as well as visits to longtime favorites of mine including Burke, Sugarbush, and Sunday River.

But this season was not just about the weather, snow (or lack of it at times), or the places. It will be marked as the season that included not just new faces from here at AZ, but true friendship and comraderie.

Bob R, remember that Monday in January when you insisted that Chilemass and I join you at Nashoba? I got my act together and threw my skis in the back of the car. I was nervous. What were these guys from AZ going to be like? Were they older than me? Quiet? After meeting them at the bar and some conversation, we hit the lift and took some spins. I felt as if I had known both of them for years. We talked about everything and ripped it up

Trip Report: Six AZ regulars and a friend of skijay met up at the Beast for this year's AlpineZone "South" Gathering on Sunday. Those attending including myself, ChileMass, thetrailboss, riverc0il, bvibert, skijay and skijay's friend, Frank. We got started shortly after 9 AM. There was a race on Competition most of the day that pretty much eliminated that from the trail options. We started down Big Chief which had some nice groomed LSGR. Second run was down Flying Cloud which had similar conditions. We were a bit disappointed that the supposedly open "Natural" trails were actually marked with "Closed" signs. They weren't roped though so we did take one run down Minnie Dole which was in pretty poor shape. Extremely hard frozen snow. Today, with the 6+" falling would be the day to hit those trails...

So effectively the only runs available to us were Outback (flat), Exhibition and War Dance off the quad, and Big Chief and Flying Cloud from the summit. We concentrated on the latter two trails for the most part. The LSGR along skier's right of most of Big Chief was a lot of fun. The awesome company and weather made up for the limited terrain. It was great to ski with ChileMass, skijay and bvibert again. It was also great to meet and ski with thetrailboss, as well as finally meeting riverc0il who's been posting here since the early days.

Great skiing with you guys! Pics coming soon (I'm reinstalling the Gallery as we speak...).

HERE is that thread.


February came as did another opportunity to meet some other folks at the Beast. This time I was really excited…I remember not being able to sleep the night before. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve. Though the snow was firm and the open terrain limited, the experience of skiing with so many friendly folks and accomplished skiers at a truly interesting mountain was unforgettable. Greg, Chilemass, riverc0il, skijay, Me, skijay’s friend, and bvibert were all there. We laughed, talked, and listened to each other’s stories about skiing and life. I left that night stoked for the next trip!



That next outing would not be until March when we ventured up to Burke for an outstanding day! The sun rose early that morning to reveal fresh snow and bluebird skies. This was the day to show Bob R, Charlie_schuesseler, riverc0il (and his buddies), and Ms. Trailboss a great time.



What a great day!!

My second to last outing of the season was with bvibert at Loon. Though both of us were tired, we ripped it up on corn snow and talked about pretty much everything under the sun.



My only regret is that the season ended too soon but I look forward to next season not just because of snow, cold weather, great tree runs, or conversation in here at Alpinezone, but the prospect of many more great days hanging out with you all on the slopes doing what we all love to do…We’re only about 200 days from snow!

[Greg]

Originally Posted by thetrailboss

I felt as if I had known both of them for years.

This sentence describes you perfectly, Michael and I've said this very thing about you to a few other AZers. Thanks for the great post. I really appreciated your enthusiasm and support of the site this season. To next season:

[Bob R]

Yes... to your credit you had no advance notiifcation, cause you were on vacation and you showed up with your slippers. (TB's min boards)
Class act all the way around. Ya it was fun and ChileMass and I are your senior, but that matters not..
Having fun was the plan all along. It was great fun haninging out and busting stones back and forth.
The community is good and no one better to represent it than you. Truthfully...

[bvibert]

Wow, I'm gonna need to remember to read your post when I get home, not enough time here at work.. Looks like another quality TB report though.. except my ugly mug made it in there twice

[thetrailboss]

I made one omission in this "longest post in AZ history" probably Forgot to mention the great night I spent skiing with the RSN Wachusett Crew. Sky--what a fun time! Thanks!

What were your seasonal highlights?